The rising COVID-19 epidemic in the United States has caused a shortage of protective equipment such as masks and gowns for medical staff. Clothing retailers that closed their physical stores due to the epidemic have turned to manufacturing masks and gowns for medical staff. Including outdoor casual clothing brands EddieBauer and Gap, underwear manufacturing company Hanesbrands, clothing fabric company Joann, and luxury brand Ralph Lauren have all recently produced medical grade masks or N95 masks.
Eddie Bauer is one of the clothing retailers that produces N95 masks. It will provide 5,000 N95 masks to Washington State in the near future and expects to add 15,000 more in early April. HanesBrands aims to produce 5-6 million US Federal Drug Administration-approved masks per week. In addition to manufacturing masks, Joann and Gap also manufacture medical gowns. Ralph Lauren is expected to produce 250,000 masks approved by the US Federal Drug Administration and 25,000 protective clothing for medical staff. (Eddie Bauer expects to produce 15,000 N95 masks in early April, and Hanes Brands will produce 5-6 million masks approved by the Federal Drug Administration per week. Joann, Gap, and Ralph Lauren not only make masks, but also make medical gowns and protective masks. clothing.)
Some retailers provide stocks of N95 masks and other protective equipment to hospitals. Target CEO Brian Cornell said that masks expected to be sold to consumers will be given priority to medical personnel, while Lowe’s will donate $10 million in basic protective products to medical personnel. HomeDepot plans to prioritize supplying supplies to hospitals and first responders.